A/N: Yes, a year later, here's the continuation that I hope some of you still had some hope for, although I can't say I blame you if you didn't. Happy Holidays!

I guess I fell asleep in Catherine's hospital room. I'm not sure exactly. It had been a long few days, and between the fight, the shock, and the all too strenuous escape process, I guess I was exhausted. When I woke up, she was awake as well, and smirking at me.

"What could possibly be that amusing Willows?" I grunted jokingly.

She smirked. "Oh nothing, just you, asleep, in a chair… you could've joined me ya know…"

I looked at her "I didn't anticipate my little nap, otherwise I probably would have."

She chortled. Now I was really confused. "Nap? Uhm Sara last time I checked twelve hours isn't a nap, in fact that's several nights sleep for you. The doctors kept coming in and checking on you to make sure you weren't in a coma or something."

Twelve hours? That must've been one hell of a case of shock if it put me out for half a day. I hadn't slept that long possibly in my entire life. "Well then… That's a little strange. When are you getting out of here?"

"Any minute now. Your sleep time was limited, the doctor just went to get the forms. We were going to have to wake you up pretty soon, otherwise you would've woken up to someone else's body in this bed."

"Well, that would've been strange. I might've gotten a little weirded out by that, although I'm sure the poor stranger would've had a bigger problem with it." Cat laughed out loud at that, which made a part of my heart come back to life that I didn't even know had died. I was glad to hear that she was okay, that she hadn't been too traumatized by what had happened to us. That's what mattered.

Just then the doctor came in to discharge Catherine, who climbed out of the bed, clearly happy to be getting released. A minute or so after, Grissom joined us in the room. He apparently came to pick us up, since obviously neither of us had cars. We piled into his Denali almost silently before I asked the question that was taking over my mind. "Did you get them?"

Gil sighed. "We got Hodges, and while it's great to have that kissass out of our lab, Ecklie's still on the loose. He got away before we got to the scene. The good news though is that once we do find him we have plenty of evidence to nail him for the murder of your mountain victim, and attempted murder of two law enforcement officers. Oh and about 100 counts of obstruction of justice. They're both going away for a long, long time."

Catherine exhaled hard, but I held my emotions in check. "You mean that jackass is still out there Grissom?"

"We're going to nail him Catherine, I promise. Until then you both are going to be under twenty four hour surveillance. I won't let him hurt you- either of you- ever again."

She nodded slightly, although I knew she needed better closure than that. We both did, but we had to make do with what we had. We were both armed, both safe, and both under the protection of armed uniforms. It was something. And besides, we knew that the guys were working nonstop on this case, it was clear from the harried look on Grissom's face that he hadn't slept in at least 24 hours, probably more, and Nick, Warrick and Greg were most likely in the same boat. No criminal was smart enough to outsmart our entire grave shift team on a tear, and certainly not Ecklie. He'd be behind bars within a few days unless he'd had the good sense (and the means) to flee the country, which was unlikely.

Grissom began to speak again "I'm sorry to have to do this to you, but are you two willing to give your statements now? I realize it's very soon after the fact, but you know as well as I do that it's imperative to get statements as soon as possible so that the details are still fresh in the v-… in your minds." I didn't want to think about the fact that Gil had obviously been about to say victim. Even though I knew it was true, I didn't want to think about myself in terms like that.

Catherine and I exchanged a significant glance. I was ready to give my statement, but if she wasn't I would stand by her in that decision, and I think she gathered that by my look. She nodded slightly, and I said "We're ready."

Grissom looked at Catherine questioningly, but she just gave him a look that reflected my words. "Alright then. I'll take you both to PD first, Brass will take your statements, ask you a few questions, then I'll take you home."

We arrived at the LVPD headquarters within minutes, and when we walked in we were surprised to find ourselves greeted by the entire team. Greg, Nick, Warrick, Sophia, and Brass were all standing in the department lobby, waiting for us. I shot Grissom a questioning look to which he said "We knew you'd both be too stubborn to wait anyway, and they wanted to be here for you guys."

We embraced each of the team members in turn. Greg whispered how glad he was to see us both okay. Nick seconded that and gave us a strong oath that he would catch Ecklie if it was the last thing he did. Sophia seconded that. While I was talking briefly to her, I heard Warrick whisper "Congratulations" to Cat, loud enough only for her and I to hear. Apparently Warrick knew Catherine well enough to know what was going on between her and I. Then Brass took me by the hand and asked me if I would go first. I said yes, and followed him down into the interrogation room that had been so familiar to me in the past, but this time seemed foreign. I was so used to being on the other side of the table, that I almost didn't recognize the room from the angle I was sitting at.

Then Brass turned from my friend and father figure to his homicide detective self…well… almost. His tone wasn't quite what he would normally use in an interview. "State your name for the record please?"

"Sara Katheryn Sidle"

"Place of employment for the record?"

"Las Vegas Police Department, Criminalistics Beaurau."

"Thank you. Now, you were working a crime scene with colleague Catherine Willows when, after an unfortunate fall, you and Miss Willows were driving back to the Crime Lab when your vehicle was hit, correct?"

"That is correct."

"What did you find when you and Miss Willows got yourselves out of the car?"

"A note, saying that if we didn't get off the case we would be killed."

"Did either you or Miss Willows sustain any injuries in the crash?"

"Yes. I received a right wrist sprain and several cuts that required stitches. Miss Willows sustained a concussion."

"Did you and your colleague abandon the case at that point?"

"No. The day after we were discharged from the hospital, Ms. Willows and I returned to the crime lab to work the evidence, in the lab only since we were on Doctor's orders to avoid fieldwork."

"Did you or your colleague receive any contact from "The Ghost" after that point?"

"Yes. There was a bat with bloody fangs tacked to my door, and another note saying that we had one last chance to abandon the case."

"What did you do then?"

"We took the evidence straight to the crime lab"

"Then what?"

"While we were waiting for the results, David Hodges came into the room and stuck a gun to Ms. Willow's head and said that if I didn't do exactly as he said he would kill her. He took her out of the room, and said that I was to pretend I was just leaving normally, and to meet his superior in a car in a parking space outside of the lab. I attempted to alert my supervisor to the situation before I left by saying I was going out to get a book from my car, and that it was titled 'Masked Stalker In a Black Jeep', I knew that would help him find us. Then I got in the car."

"Who did you see in the car?"

"David Hodges. He told me that Conrad Ecklie was in the other car with Catherine. We drove to the location, where they put us into the basement. After a while Ecklie called me to come with him. I went without a struggle so he wouldn't hurt Catherine. He came at me with a knife, tortured me for a long time. Then he threw me back into the basement. I hid the wounds from Catherine so she wouldn't worry. Then they called for her to come out, and we attacked them and ran. The rest you know."

"Thank you Sara. That's all we need."

I walked out of the room and saw Catherine standing in the viewing room, tears streaming down her face. "What's wrong Honey?" I asked her, taking her into my arms.

"Why didn't you tell me what he did to you?"

I looked down at her, rubbing small circles into her back. "I didn't want to scare you. I wasn't hurt badly, so I internalized it. It's what I do."

"I'm so sorry" my girlfriend sobbed into my shoulder.

I looked her in the eye "This is NOT your fault Cat. They're sick bastards who wanted us out of their way so that they could continue their little conspiracy."

Then Brass walked in. "Catherine, are you ready to give your statement?" The blonde nodded, and followed Brass into the interrogation room, looking as uncomfortable there as I felt in there.

While Brass collected Catherine's statement, the other team members kept trying to talk to me, but I softly pushed them away. I wasn't ready to talk yet, and all I could think about was the fact that Ecklie was still on the loose. He was still capable of hurting Catherine, and that made me furious. So furious that I wanted to hunt him down myself and rip his balls off, but I knew that wouldn't help anything in the long run.

A/N: Okay guys, I'm sorry about the yearlong wait for this. Also, sorry this was more of a recap chapter than anything new and interesting. I figured since it had been a long wait, everyone could use the review, me included. The next chapter (and yes there will be one) will get back into the storyline, and I promise I won't make you wait a year for it. Meanwhile I've got a new CSI story out, titled "Justice" It's Sara/Cath but very different than this one but I think you guys will like it, so go check it out. Oh and please review, even if it is just to yell at me for making you wait this long. :)